Quote:
Originally Posted by nathanww
Okay, so a few questions:
1.Is this going to be an option on the table for next year's competition? If so, will it replace labview, or just be another option?. If not, when are you looking at introducing it?
2.Is this purely a third-party product, or will it be part of the "official" FIRST software, like Java, C++, and labview are now?
3.Will this be able to compile code or use native libraries for processing-intesnsive operations(like java does now)? Or will we be limited to just the interpreted MATLAB/simulink code?
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To answer your questions,
1. Yes, we are planning on having a version of the Simulink FRC Library ready for the 2011 season. It is not a replacement for LabVIEW; rather, it is an alternative graphical environment for designing robot control algorithms and generating code for them. The graphical notation can include state diagrams as well as signal flow diagrams, and is especially well suited for simulation and testing.
2. For the 2011 season, the Simulink FRC Library will be a third party product, available to any team who requests it from us. It will not be part of the official FIRST FRC kit for 2011.
3. The Simulink FRC Library can be used in two ways. (a) you can run the Simulink model (on your host computer) to simulate and test your algorithm. (b) you can generate C++ code from it which will be compiled, linked with the WPILib and native libraries, and downloaded to the NI CompactRIO. There is no interpreter or virtual machine involved; the generated code is straight C++ code that you can read and modify if you wish (though typically this would not be necessary). You can incorporate custom C++ code as well.